Wednesday, April 5, 2023

beau geste (bo ZHEST)noun:

• A gracious, but often meaningless, gesture.

Etymology: From French, literally fine gesture. Earliest documented use: 1920.

office quarterback

• a manager that is infamously known for handing off their work and other useless assignments to you that they could and should be doing themselves

The office quarterback just handed off a bunch of her assignments to me, AGAIN!

History

• Pocahontas: Algonquian princess married English colonist John Rolfe, a tobacco planter (1614)
• veto: was used by a US president for 1st time — by George Washington; it was another half century before Congress first overrode a presidential veto (1792)
• manual alphabet: Anne Sullivan breaks through to Helen Keller when she spells "water" into her hand (1887)
• Akashi Kaikyō Bridge: Japanese "Pearl Bridge" opened; it links Kobe to Awaji Island and, at 1,991 meters or 6,532 feet, is the world's longest suspension bridge (1998)

Birthdays 

• Thomas Hobbes 1588
• Elihu Yale 1649
• Joseph Lister 1827 - British surgeon, inventor (Listerine mouthwash)
• Robert Smalls 1839
• Booker T. Washington 1856 - Educator, author (Up From Slavery)
• Spencer (Bonaventure) Tracy 1900 - Actor ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1941]")
• Melvyn Douglas (Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg) 1901 - Actor ("Ghost Story", "Being There")
• Bette (Ruth Elizabeth) Davis 1908 - Actress ("Dangerous", "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?")
• Jagjivan Ram 1908 - Political leader in India
• Gregory Peck 1916 - Actor ("To Kill a Mockingbird [1962]", "The Guns of Navarone", "Captain Horatio Hornblower")
• Arthur Hailey 1920 - Author (Airport, The Final Diagnosis)
• Robert Q. Lewis 1921 - Comedian, TV quiz show panelist ("What's My Line", "To Tell the Truth")
• Gale Storm (Josephine Cottle) 1922 - Singer ("Ivory Tower"), actress ("My Little Margie")
• Stan Levey 1925 - Drummer (in band with Charlie Parker), composer
• Roger Corman 1926 - Director
• Tony Williams 1928 - Singer (Platters)
• Nigel Hawthorne 1929 - Actor ("Richard III", "Demolition")
• Cowboy Jack Clement 1931
• Billy Bland 1932 - Singer
• Frank Gorshin 1934 - Impressionist, actor ("Batman", "The Great Imposter")
  

  
• Stanley Turrentine 1934 - Saxophone player
• Colin Powell 1937 - U.S. Secretary of State, four-star general, Chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Ronnie White - Singer (The Miracles)
• Tommy Cash 1940 - Songwriter, country singer, brother of Johnny Cash
• David LaFlamme 1941
• Michael Moriarty 1941 - Actor ("Windmills of the Gods")
• Peter Greenaway 1942 - Director, writer
• Allan Clark 1942 - Singer (The Hollies)
• Maxwell Gail 1943 - Actor ("Barney Miller")
• Crispin St. Peters 1944
• Dave Holland 1944 - Musician (Judas Priest)
• Doug Favell 1945 - Hockey player
• Jane Asher 1946 - Actress
• Dr. Judith A. Resnik 1949 - Electric engineer, astronaut
• Agnetha Faltskog 1950 - Singer (ABBA)
• Marv Bateman 1950 - Football player
• Rennie (Renaldo Antonio Porte) Stennett 1951 - Baseball player
• Brad Van Pelt 1951 - Football player
• Mitch Pileggi 1952 - actor, The X-Files
• Peter Greenway 1952
• Peter Case 1954 - Musician (Plimsouls)
• Stan Ridgeway 1954 - Musician (Wall of Voodoo)
• Mike McCready 1966 - Musician (Pearl Jam)
• Troy Gentry 1967 - Country singer
• Paula Cole 1968 - Singer
• Krista Allen 1971 - hottie
• Pharrel Williams 1973 - Rapper